Center for Church CommunicationThe pageantry, passion and perspiration of the Olympic Games is officially upon us. The 2016 Rio Olympic Games began last week, and while the accompanying marketing is full swing, churches need to be careful about using official Olympic trademarks. If you’re planning a sermon series, Olympic-related event or even just talking about the games, you need to be aware of how the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is cracking down. They’re notorious for protecting their brand with extreme vigilance, but this year they’re even going after hashtags, retweets and GIFs.READ MORE

The Church NetworkBoard governance in the church carries with it certain responsibilities. Church leadership is realizing more the need for engaged and educated board members that have not only a ministry mind but also various skill sets to be able to help the church grow and meet the ever changing responsibilities we have in society as an organization and an employer.

Join Vonna Laue today at 1:30 p.m. CDT / 2:30 p.m. EDT, for a one hour webinar where participants will discuss what the overall responsibilities of a governing board are, what committees are needed or useful to help accomplish goals, what the functions are of individual committees, and more.READ MORE

The Church NetworkWhen setting compensation for church staff, it is important to have current, accurate, and verified data comparisons. August is salary data-share month at MinistryPay.com. With confidential sharing of your church's salary data you

Encourage responsible ministry compensation,

Create healthy pay ranges for your staff,

Discover appropriate industry benchmarks, and

Save money.

Share your data with your fellow church administrative leaders – get the information you need for your ministry. This is a great way to help each other. Don't Go It Alone! MinistryPay.com is the national church staff compensation survey of The Church Network.

By Mark MacDonald Everyone groans when we see the first back-to-school commercial of the year. Almost as much as seeing the first Christmas ad that asks "Started your holiday shopping yet?" We're never fully ready to be reminded of huge events on our calendar – even if they're close. It shouldn't come as a shock that Easter, Christmas, Lent, etc., are approaching. Except we get so focused on the busyness of today, and special days creep up. Please note: Christmas is sneaking up.
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Worship FacilitiesWarm and hot weather marks the time of year when the alarms prompting severe weather planning and preparedness go off in church administrative offices around the country. The National Weather Service (NWS) perpetuates this rite of passage by offering spring severe weather spotter training talks and partners with state emergency management agencies to observe severe weather awareness weeks across the nation.READ MORE

The Christian CenturyFostering humility, intellectual humility in particular, is a way to reduce congregational conflict, according to recent studies. New research suggests that the more pastors are perceived to be intellectually humble, the more likely they are to be forgiven by people who took offense at something they said or did. This was especially the case in one study for perceived transgressions in the area of religious beliefs, values, or convictions, core areas of religious identity that have the potential to tear congregations asunder.READ MORE

Thom S. RainerThom S. Rainer has worked with hundreds of rookie pastors over the years and sees a pattern of mistakes many of them make. Here, he highlights eight common mistakes that will be helpful to some of you.READ MORE

HH ArchitectsDesigned and built with an amusement park in mind, the HH team completed the Crossroads Christian Church children’s education building in 2015 with an astonishing result. After research by the design team, multiple concepts were presented to the pastoral team at Crossroads. None of the concepts specifically met with the expectations of the pastors, initially. In the final concept session, an idea was sketched on the back of a napkin that the pastors found irresistible.READ MORE

Harvard Business ReviewThere it is in your inbox: a meeting invite to a meeting you really don’t want to attend. Maybe because it’s shoe-horned into one of the few remaining white spaces in your calendar. Or it’s for a time that’s already booked, and now you’re left to decide whom to turn down. Whatever the reason, sometimes you need to decline a meeting invite.READ MORE

Church CentralEarlier this year, Mark DeMoss, founder of DeMoss Thinking/PR, addressed a group of 50 senior pastors on the topic of social media. Mark shared 30-minutes worth of cons only, focusing on the unintentional abuse of social media by leaders and the downsides of engagement without reflection. After a few days of ruminating on his insights, the following "cautions" are re-articulated points of his advice to pastors.READ MORE

Tony Morgan LiveToday’s churches offer church goers more programs than ever before. Whether it is activities for men or women, couples or singles, young adults or seniors, many churches find themselves drifting towards complexity as more and more ministry programs are added each year. So what exactly separates churches overloaded with programs from those who have found a simpler way? The answer lies in how each church thinks. With this in mind, here are five common myths that program-driven churches believe about effectiveness.READ MORE

Religion News ServiceMost American churchgoers are hearing politics from the pulpits of their churches during this presidential election season, according to a new survey. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents (64 percent) in the survey released Monday, Aug. 8, by the Pew Research Center say their clergy have spoken about at least one political or social issue in the spring and early summer.READ MORE

CrossmapIn recent days, Randy and Adele Millwood have been on a permanent road trip – one designed to better understand the needs of churches throughout Maryland and Delaware, Christian Telegraph reports according to Baptist Press. About five years ago, the couple strategically started to make changes in order to live a more simplified lifestyle, based on Ecclesiastes 7:29. "We knew the churches and the pastors, and that was very nice, but we didn't know what the people face on a regular basis," he noted. "It was very difficult for us to discern counsel or advice or coaching techniques for churches because we didn't know what they were facing."
That changed when the Millwoods bought a recreational vehicle, their version of a tiny house on wheels.READ MORE

Managing Your ChurchOne of the six ways church leaders can help create a culture of innovation and initiative among their team is “Model Innovation.” As the leader, you must model any behavior you wish to replicate among your team. If you resist innovation and reject your team members’ ideas, then they will learn to keep their mouths shut. Leaders must be on the front lines displaying an open posture to new methods and tools that help the work of ministry be more effective.READ MORE

Christian TodayHow to grow a church is one of the major questions facing Christian leaders today. New research suggests 'success' in this area isn't primarily a question of theology or style, but instead it's about having an attitude of growth. The report, from the Center for Theology & Community looks at 13 churches of different denominations, sizes and styles in east London. It found that, "The evidence of our research (and of the wider body of literature in the subject) is that growth which is both numerical and holistic is most likely to occur where it is intentionally pursued."READ MORE

Inc.A car with a flat or missing tire won't get very far. Like any machine with missing or ineffective parts, it simply won't operate properly. And the same is true of organizations. Organizations are only as successful as their employees are, so attracting and retaining top talent is vital to success. These five things will help you get and keep your best employees.READ MORE